This blog is about my exposure to the Spanish language and various Latin-American cultures through travel and research; particularly Black Latino (Afro-Latino) cultures.

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Thursday, February 12, 2015

Latino Lynchings

Some years back, I attended a lecture at the La Peña Cultural Center in Berkeley, CA where the Mexican-American presenter spoke of Mexicans being lynched during the same time period as black Americans. Although this was the first I heard of such a horror happening to Latinos, I was not surprised!

Below is a summary of Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review article entitled, The Unknown History of Latino Lynchings. The article addresses Latinos, mostly Mexican-Americans, primarily in the Southwestern U.S. states of California, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Nevada who were
lynched between the years of 1846 and 1925.

Mexicans, like African Americans, were not only lynched for being “uppity,” taking jobs away from whites, making advances toward white women, cheating at cards, practicing “Witchcraft,” and refusing to
give up their land because whites wanted it, but Mexicans, were also lynched for
acting “too Mexican;” i.e., speaking Spanish
too loudly or proudly showing off aspects of Mexican culture.

The Unknown History of Latino Lynchings

Although research on Latino lynchings is relatively new, circa
2006-2009, lynchings have a deep rooted history. Such acts can be
described as mob violence where person(s) are murdered/hanged for an
alleged offense usually without a trial. Through reviewing of
anthropological research, storytelling, and other internal &
external interactions, there is believed to have been roughly 600
lynchings of Mexicans and Mexican-Americans beginning with the aftermath
of the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo (this document essentially
ended the Mexican-American war, where Mexico surrendered half of its
land to the U.S.). This grim fate of Blacks and Mexicans in the U.S.
was intertwined; both groups were lynched by Anglos for reasons such as
“acting uppity,” taking jobs away from Anglos, making advances toward
Anglo women, cheating at cards, practicing “Witchcraft,” and refusing to
leave land that Whites coveted. Additionally, Mexicans were lynched for
acting “too Mexican;” for example, if Mexicans were speaking Spanish
too loudly or showcasing aspects of their culture too defiantly, they
were lynched. Mexican women may also been lynched if they resisted the
sexual advances of Anglo men. Many of these lynchings occurred with
active participation of law enforcement. In fact the article reiterates
that the Texas Rangers had a special animus towards persons of Mexican
descent. Considering that Mexicans had little to no political power or
social standing in a “new nation,” they had no recourse from such
corrupt organizations. Popular opinion was to eradicate the Southwest of
Mexicans.Many of these lynchings were treated as a public spectacle; Anglos
celebrated each of these killings as if the acts were in accordance with
community wishes, re-solidifying society and reinforcing civic virtue.
Ringleaders of such lynchings often mutilated bodies of Mexicans, by
shooting the bodies after individuals were already dead, cutting off
body parts, then leaving the remains on display perhaps in hung trees or
in burning flames.These lynchings took place in the Southwest U.S., in present-day
Texas, California, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Nevada, amongst
other states. The killings were carried out by vigilantes or other
masked-men, as a form of “street justice.” These killings became so bad
that the Mexican government lodged official complaints to the U.S.
counsel in Mexico. Given that this region of the U.S. was at one time
Mexican land, and it was shared with Indian/Indios, Mexicans, and
Anglos, protests against the lynchings emerged. As legend has it,
Joaquin Murrieta took matters into his own hands by murdering the Anglos
responsible for the death of mythical figures Juan Cortina and Gregorio
Cortes. Such acts were short-lived and perpetuated the conflict between
Mexicans and Anglos.Delgado goes on to cite that only some U.S. historians have written
about these Latino lynchings and have pointed out that they occurred due
to racial prejudice, protection of turf, and Yankee nationalism left
over from the Mexican-American War. However, it has been concluded that
such lynchings are a relatively unknown history due to a global pattern
of shaping discourse as to avoid embarrassment of the dominant group.
Those in power often have the ability to edit official records.Further exploration reveals that these lynchings were not only edited
& minimized outright, but were also ignored or misrepresented due
to primary accounts in community newspapers being written in Spanish.
Since very few mainstream historians read Spanish or consulted with
these records, they were left to flounder. Also, many Latinos knew of
these lynchings; their accounts were maintained, shared, and solidified
as Mexican lore through ritualistically songs (corridos, actos, and
cantares). Many oral cultures have equivalences of such interpretations.
Today, Latino scholars are not surprised by history’s ignoring of such
events; postcolonial theory describes how colonial societies almost
always circulate accounts of their invasions that flatter and depicts
them as the bearers of justice, science, and humanism. Conversely, the
natives were depicted as primitive, bestial, and unintelligent.
Subsequently, colonialists must civilize the natives, use the land &
its resources in a better fashion, and enact a higher form of justice.
The “official history” is written by the conquerors, thus showing them
in the best possible light.Delgado questions whether such remnants of Latino lynchings may still
be present in society today. This can best be exemplified through
movements to make English the official language of the U.S., forcing
immigrants to assimilate to the dominant Anglo culture. Such actions can
be illustrated in movements to end bilingual school opportunities and
enforce English-only speaking at jobs, businesses, etc. Postcolonial
scholars argue that such movements facilitate children to reject their
own culture, acquire English, and forget their native language. These
actions have far dire [documentable] consequence, like social distress,
depression, and crime. As such, Delgado ventures to say that these
actions are an implicit form of lynching.Delgado ends the piece by saying that hidden histories of aggression,
unprovoked war, lynchings, and segregation are
corroborated/proliferated today by the mass media and entertainment
industry. These groups, along with other scholars, have the opportunity
to redress this history and reject further practices against Latinos.
Otherwise, marginalized groups find themselves in a position where they
are alienated from their family/identity/culture, co-opted, and unable
to resist further oppression.

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Bill Smith Jr

billsmih510@gmail.com — Bill is a certified professional résumé writer born in St. Louis, Missouri, USA, and raised in New York City, the USA near Spanish Harlem where he began teaching himself Spanish at age 10. His late Mexican-American friend, Yolanda Guttierrez, strongly encouraged Bill to learn the culture if he is going to speak the language. Bill took her advice to heart by exploring black cultures in Latin America through research and travel, thus his blog, African American-Latino World.